Chicago Bulls All-Star Joakim Noah talks to a group of kids about gun violence, part of his work with his Noah’s Arc Foundation. (Chandler West/AP)

Chicago Bulls basketball star Joakim Noah wants his city’s residents to put their guns down and stand up for good instead. So does Derrick Rose. The two Chicago sports celebrities starred in a video promoted by Noah’s anti-violence non-profit, Noah’s Arc Foundation, that implores people to stop the violence that has gripped the city.

The public service announcement, which came out this weekend, accompanied Noah’s third annual “peace tournament,” aka the “One City” basketball tournament held Saturday. The tournament gathers teams made up of 18-to-24-year-old “at risk” men from all over Chicago.

“These are men Noah wants to see return to their communities to ‘influence’ younger kids in a positive way,” ESPN’s Jon Greenberg writes.

“This city has given me so much, it’s hard to know what’s really going on a couple blocks from here,” on the West Side, the 29-year-old star told ESPN during the tournament at United Center. “The South Side is close. This is where I live. I live in Chicago now. I just want to do my best. I don’t know all the answers. At the end of the day, I just want to go out there and help, because this is just as important to me as winning a championship.”

Rose was also on hand to join Noah at his charity event, along with Chicago natives such as free agent Nazr Mohammed, Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley and Bulls special assistant Randy Brown.

Marissa Payne writes for The Early Lead, a fast-breaking sports blog, where she focuses on what she calls the “cultural anthropological” side of sports, aka “mostly the fun stuff.” She is also an avid WWE fan.

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